1. Technical Field
The invention concerns an actuating device for miniature keyboards or input tablets with an actuating element which is shaped in the form of a pen and has a tip adapted to the size of the keys or tablet fields, in particular for use with palmtop computers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Miniaturized electronic devices such as palmtop computers, input tablets, watches, medical equipment and suchlike have miniature keys or input panels which, as a result of the mismatch in size between the touch area and the width of the finger, are in some cases difficult to operate. In order to enable safe actuation of miniature keyboards, specially adapted pens are used. The actuation of keys with pens of this kind is, however, awkward and time-consuming.
A miniaturized interface device wearable on the finger to generate a digital input into information processing devices is also known (U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,817). The device has a finger palette and a stylus ring which are worn on various fingers and which in their interaction perform the function of a digital input tablet and a conventional mouse input device. For this, the finger palette is worn on the index finger and the stylus ring on the thumb of the same hand. When the two fingers are brought together the stylus ring can be used to select a specific coordinate on the finger palette and generate a corresponding input into a connected computer, while the fingertips remain free for simultaneous operation of a keyboard. The operation of miniaturized keyboards plays no role in this known device.